Étienne Fessard, a French engraver, was born in Paris in 1714. He was a pupil of

Edme Jeaurat Edme Jeaurat (1688–1738) was a French engraver from Vermenton, near Auxerre. Jeaurat was the son of an engraver and the elder brother of painter Etienne Jeaurat. His father took young Edme to Paris and apprenticed him to Bernard Picart. After ...

, and proved an artist of sufficient merit to be accepted for candidacy (''agréé'') at the

Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (; ) was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abolished in 1793 during the French Revolution. I ...

(1753). A protegé of ''le comte de'' Caylus, whom he may have assisted in the development of skill in etching, Fessard received the appointment Engraver of the King's Library (''graveur de la Bibliothèque du Roi'') in 1756, with responsibility for the engravings of the royal collection of paintings and drawings, as a result of Caylus' influence. On his death in 1777, the position was given to his student

Augustin de Saint-Aubin Augustin de Saint-Aubin sometimes styled Auguste de Saint-Aubin (3 January 1736 – 9 November 1807), belongs to an important dynasty of French designers and engravers. Biography Augustin de Saint-Aubin was born on 3 January 1736 in Paris to the k ...

. Fessard executed a considerable number of plates, but his efforts to resume the engraving of the King's paintings did not obtain the support of the ''Acadmie royale'' and resulted in only two plates: "Feste Flamande" after Rubens and "L'Empire de Flore" after Poussin.Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des Estampes et des Photographies, ''Inventaire du fonds français, graveurs du XVIIIe siècle'', t. 9 (1962), pp. 22-112 (1260 nos.), in particular, no. 404 (pp. 88-92) and no. 1235 (p. 107).

Portraits

*'' Hortensia Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin''; after

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

. *''Marie Madeleine de Lavergne, Countess de La Fayette''; after the same. *'' J. P. de Bougainville, of the French Academy''; after C. N. Cochin. *''The

Marquis de Mirabeau Victor de Riqueti, Marquis de Mirabeau (; 5 October 171513 July 1789) was a French economist of the Physiocratic school. He was the father of Honoré, Comte de Mirabeau and André Boniface Louis Riqueti de Mirabeau. He was, in distinction, oft ...

''; after

Van Loo Van Loo is a Dutch toponymic surname, meaning "from the forest clearing", see van (Dutch). People with this surname include: ;A family of painters : *Jacob van Loo (1614–1670), Dutch painter * Louis-Abraham van Loo (1653–1712), Dutch-born ...

. *''The Duke de Choiseul''; after the same.

Subjects after various masters

*''Diana and

Actaeon In Greek mythology, Actaeon (; ''Aktaiōn'') was the son of the priestly herdsman Aristaeus and Autonoe in Boeotia, and a famous Thebes, Greece, Theban Greek hero cult, hero. Through his mother he was a member of the ruling House of Cadmus. Like ...

''; after Giacomo Bassano; for the

Crozat Collection Pierre Crozat (1665–1740) was a French financier, art patron and collector at the center of a broad circle of ''cognoscenti''; he was the brother of Antoine Crozat. Biography The brothers Crozat were born in Toulouse, France, the sons of a wea ...

. *''The Virgin enthroned, with SS. Francis, John, and Catharine''; after

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

. *''The Holy Family, with St. Charles Borromeo''; after

Scarsellino Scarsellino or Ippolito Scarsella (1550 (or 1551) – 28 October 1620) was an Italian mid-to-late sixteenth century reformist painter and one of the most important representatives of the School of Ferrara (Painting), School of Ferrara. His lands ...

. *''The Four Liberal Arts, personified by Children''; four plates; after C. van Loo. *''Jupiter and Antiope''; after the same. 1758. *'' Herminia armed as Clorinda''; after J. B. Pierre. *''The Birth of Venus''; after F. de Troy. *''Jupiter and Leda''; after the same. *''The Triumph of

Galatea Galatea is an ancient Greek name meaning "she who is milk-white". Galatea, Galathea or Gallathea may refer to: In mythology * Galatea, three different mythological figures from Greek mythology In the arts * '' Aci, Galatea e Polifemo'', ca ...

''; after Bouchardon; etched by Count de Caylus, and finished by Fessard. *''The Triumph of Bacchus''; after the same; etched by Count de Caylus, and finished by Fessard. *''The Nativity''; after Boucher. *''A Flemish Festival''; after

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

. 1762. *''Psyche abandoned by Cupid''; after Le Moine.

References

* 1714 births 1774 deaths 18th-century French engravers Engravers from Paris {{France-artist-stub